No. 19 Franklin College Football Falls in Thriller at No. 1 Mount Union

The No. 19th-ranked Franklin College football team scored 28 second-half points and held a fourth-quarter lead before losing 30-27 at No. 1-ranked University of Mount Union in Saturday's season opener at Mount Union Stadium in Alliance, Ohio. The Grizzlies held a 27-23 lead with 7:09 left in the game after a one-yard score from junior Sam Otley (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli).The defending NCAA Division III national champions answered right back on the following drive to regain the lead. Mason Minnich capped off a seven-play, 79-yard drive to give the hosts a 30-27 lead with 4:17 left in the game.The Purple Raiders scored 14 first-quarter points to grab early momentum. Joshua Scott returned an interception 38 yards for one touchdown. Later, Germany Woods capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive with a one-yard scoring run with 5:39 left in the opening quarter.Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke hooked up with Jack Nicholls for a five-yard pass with 11:50 remaining in the first half to give Mount Union a 20-0 advantage.Then, it was Franklin's turn to light up the scoreboard in the second half. Special teams gave the three-time defending Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference champions momentum on the opening kickoff of the second half.Senior Kyle Holzbog (Huntingburg, Ind./Southridge) forced a fumble that was recovered by classmate Matt Walker (North Vernon, Ind./Jennings Country) at Mount Union's 8-yard line. Senior running back Joey Pasquale (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) punched it in with a two-yard rush.Later in the third quarter, senior quarterback Jonny West (Speedway, Ind./Speedway) found junior Zach Cole (Middletown, Ind./Shenandoah) for a 15-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 23-14 with under two minutes left in the period.After the Grizzilies' defense stopped Mount Union, the offense scored again through the air as West connected with junior Jonny Hession (Speedway, Ind./Speedway) for a 34-yard touchdown pass. The scoring play put the Franklin within two, 23-21, at the 13:42 mark of the fourth quarter.Then, the team scored again and failed on the two-point conversion. Those 27 points were the most that Mount Union had allowed since a game in the 2004 season,Individually, West went 16-of-29 for 203 yards with two touchdowns to lead the passing attack. Cole had five receptions for 72 yards, including a score. Senior Kyle Linville (Speedway, Ind./Speedway) had three catches for 53 yards.On the ground, Pasquale had 11 carries and a touchdown. Junior Grant Welp (Ferdinand, Ind./Forest Park) gained a team-high 62 yards on the ground.Franklin returns to action on Saturday, September 7 at 6 p.m. by hosting Butler University in the first night game at Faught Stadium.